About the robot, I would have to experience because it could be a good thing … or it could be a horrible thing – just another distraction inside the car that I, as a driver, would have to deal with! And, then like with everything else, at least here in the UK, they would be outlawed unless you were parked.

Anyway, more torque means less green (by definition), not less efficient. And the more torque available, the more it is going to be used. So, the car could be greener. And, yes, the car is consumes less electricity than a subcompact car, but only on idle. When you floor it, all torque will consume loads of electricity, but that’s not mentioned. (And I do know that torque is, the Nm who’s largely responsible for the 0 to 100 figure.)

I’m not saying the car isn’t efficient, I’m just saying the car could function perfectly without the excess torque.

But, as I said, I do like the robot.

]]>By: Greg Poloynishttp://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-robotic-eco-nissan-pivo-2/comment-page-1/#comment-76827
Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:56:55 +0000http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/11/transportation-tuesday-nissan-pivo-2/#comment-76827So first off, my main complaint is that there is a robot detecting my mood and telling me how to drive. I like punk music, and I like singing in the car,. To be honest, I like muttering that some drivers are idiots while I’m driving. Yes, I realize that I might don the idiot cap while driving from time to time, but I don’t need Nissan pointing that out to me while I drive. Maybe the car can somehow publicly humiliate me in front of the other drivers while I’m on the road, just to make sure I’m ‘Nissan’ safe and acting in line.

I think more public transprtation would do more good for transportation safety than some Lost-In-Space wanna-be warning me every time there is perceived danger.

That aside, it’s cute. It makes me smile. Does it giggle when I pat it on the head? Maybe I should be asking that question about myself?

As an example, the Prius’ Electric Motor generates 258 Ft-Lbs of torque, with the peak from 0-400 RPM. But it only generates 44 HP peak (in a range from 1040-5600).

It gets a little extra Torque and HP from it’s Engine (Peak Horsepower: 70 hp at 4,500 rpm, Peak Torque: 82 lb.-ft. at 4,200 rpm), but as you can see the majority of it’s Torque is from the Motor, and mostly at low speeds. Good for starting from a stand still (and allows it to use just the Electric Motor to do it), but not good for high speed acceleration.

This is why the Prius is fairly sedate when going from 0-60 (~10 seconds), even though it has more Torque than lots of faster cars.

Now, I will agree that REPORTING on the Torque as if it’s a performance feature is a bit silly. Torque does not equal speed. It does measure pulling power (which is why it’s usually more important for big trucks, but not so much for sports cars).

But this statement:
“Sure, cleaner than a V8, but not as clean as possible with a bit of sensibility!”

just doesn’t make sense. Higher Torque does not mean less efficient for Electric motors. It’s not like an ICE. It doesn’t use the energy all the time regardless of whether you really need it or not.

For ICEs, the engine has to be very large to generate a lot of Torque, which means it has to burn a lot of fuel to keep running, which means it’s inefficient. Not so with EVs.

The only correlation for an EV is that Heavier = less efficient. The lighter the better. And this goofy looking car IS pretty light.

And I do like the little robot (and I know my Wife and Daughter would love it ;).

]]>By: Warren Brookehttp://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-robotic-eco-nissan-pivo-2/comment-page-1/#comment-76640
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:39:02 +0000http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/11/transportation-tuesday-nissan-pivo-2/#comment-76640With respect, Hugo, I believe they are making two separate claims in the article. The four electric motors consume less energy than a sub-compact car (I assume with a petrol engine), and yet with the new electric motor design the torque that is delivered to the wheels is equivalent to that of a V8 engine. Torque by itself isn’t the whole story behind “performane”. What torque will do is start the car from a stop very quickly, which is quite a nice feature for a city car in stop-and-go traffic.
]]>By: karinahttp://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-robotic-eco-nissan-pivo-2/comment-page-1/#comment-76620
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:38:27 +0000http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/11/transportation-tuesday-nissan-pivo-2/#comment-76620a car of the future! Japans rule!
]]>By: Hugohttp://inhabitat.com/transportation-tuesday-robotic-eco-nissan-pivo-2/comment-page-1/#comment-76588
Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:42:35 +0000http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/11/transportation-tuesday-nissan-pivo-2/#comment-76588Please, try harder. It’s like they don’t understand. Making a car like this (which I think is ugly, but ok so many cars are…) who can outpull a serious V8? Give me a break. If I’d want a car that has that kind of performance figures, I’d buy one which looks a bit more racey and if I’d want a car just to do shopping and maybe drive to the neighbours in that looks cute and pritty, I wouldn’t be worried with the performance! And furthermore, this performance doesn’t make the car any greener. Sure, cleaner than a V8, but not as clean as possible with a bit of sensibility!

Please, go back to your designdepartment and try again. Come up with a better idea that would actually be clever and thought out.